


Beast of Burden

by DramaticGarbage



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Animal Shelter, Cat, Depression, Emile mention, M/M, Mentions of therapy/medication, animal adoption, brief logince at the end, food/eating mention, parental logicality, tiny Patton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23701180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage/pseuds/DramaticGarbage
Summary: Roman’s therapist has a suggestion for how Roman could try and help his depression, he gives it a try.
Comments: 29
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

Roman found himself outside the animal shelter, looking up at the sign above the door and reading it for what was probably the fourth time. He had certainly found the right place. There was no doubt about it. And this... This was a pretty good idea, in theory. He did thrive on companionship and a pet would definitely be great for that. Now, it hadn’t been his idea, for that he had to credit his therapist. 

Emile Picani, who he’d been going to for a good while now, had mentioned to him that having a responsibility that was impossible to ignore might be good for helping him with his depression. He’d been making strides with his therapy sessions and his medication definitely helped as well, but there were still days where he just couldn’t get himself out of bed for anything. And seeing as Roman was the type who’d never pass up the opportunity to be there for someone else, even if doing something crucial for himself was just not in the cards at the moment.. A pet could definitely fit the bill. 

He stepped up and pushed the door open, looking around the space. With what he knew about animals in shelters, he assumed more than anything that he’d end up going home with a large dog. His home had a yard of a fair enough size, but having to take out a dog for walks was what he figured was in his future. 

Roman made his way over to the desk, watching as someone came over to assist him. He had to look down a fair amount to make eye contact with him. ...How big he was was something he tended to forget until he encountered someone new. But Roman was definitely a large man, often a head taller than anyone he met, and his shoulders were about a mile wide. No matter, he just smiled as the man behind the counter came up to meet him. 

“Hello there. I’m looking to adopt a pet.” Roman said, feeling somewhat silly for saying what was fairly obvious. 

“Of course, um..” The employee’s eyes traveled over his somewhat large form, taking in the mountain of a person before him. “Do you know what it is you’re looking for? Energy level, maintenance needs... Size requirements..” 

That got a laugh out of Roman, a loud, warm sound that was absolutely impossible to miss. “Well.. I can handle a high energy level and size isn’t an issue, I have an alright sized yard... As far as maintenance... I’ll just be honest, it’s probably for the best. I have some struggles with getting up and moving somedays. I’m hoping a pet that needs me to take care of it, and won’t let me not do what it needs, will help me on those days.” He explained, unsure of whether or not that would sound weird to this other person. 

The employee looked over him for a moment, slowly nodding. “...Pets can really surprise you, with how much they really realize what’s going on around them.” He gave him a small and reassuring smile. “I actually came in a while back for something somewhat similar, in a way. And I think... I think I know just the boy for you.” 

Roman was a bit surprised, but he nodded, thankful. “Wonderful. Well, I’d love to see him.” 

“I’ll take you back, just this way.” The employee came out from behind the counter, nodding toward a hallway as they headed off. 

There was a somewhat strange silence as they went, him feeling like he should say something as they headed down the hall. “...I’m Roman, by the way.” 

The employee looked up, somewhat playfully gesturing to the name tag on his chest that the man beside him missed. “Virgil.” 

“I see... Now.” Roman laughed, Virgil letting out a soft snicker along with him, making the quiet that settled over them much more comfortable this time. 

They were the heading down a hall with large glass windows, Roman glancing through them to see rooms where a few cats would be playing or sleeping. He was definitely surprised that they were walking past cats, but he was more than curious to see what Virgil thought would be right for him. He knew animals far better than he did, afterall. They came to a door beside a window, Roman looking in and not seeing any animals at all. There was a cat tree, a basket, a few toys.. 

Virgil opened the door, waving Roman inside before closing it behind them. When it clicked shut, suddenly a head popped up over the lip of the highest part of the cat tree. Roman glanced over, seeing a vibrant orange cat. 

“...Well hello there.” He said, tilting his head to the side as he looked at him. 

“We’ve been calling him Tiger, he’s a ginger Maine Coon. He’s somewhere around 2, which means he’s definitely not a kitten anymore... But these guys will generally keep growing for a bit longer.” Virgil explained.

The cat in question stood, starting to climb down the tree and toward Roman. Roman blinked, watching as there just kept seeming to be more of him. This was easily the biggest house cat he’d seen in person. So that certainly explained that thought process. The large man knelt down, holding out a hand so the cat could give him a sniff. He didn’t know that cats necessarily did that... But it felt like the right thing to. To his surprise, after an initial sniff, Tiger sat right down and just swatted his hand with his large paw. 

Virgil let out a little laugh, watching. “...So, he’s pretty spirited. You can pet him, but he has a tendency to pet back. And he has a lot to say.” 

Roman had turned his attention to Virgil, opening his mouth to ask what he meant by that. But before he had managed to find the words, he felt a light thump on his chest followed by a deep meow. “ _Mroooow_.” 

He turned quickly, Tiger staring directly up at him, resting his paw on his chest. Roman had never really interacted with cats before, but this definitely didn’t seem like what he assumed they tended to be like. He slowly moved his hand to the back of the cat’s head, running it down his back. That earned him another little thump. After having this little back and forth for a few rounds, he turned back to Virgil. 

“...I can’t tell if this is going well.” 

The employee immediately laughed, looking over him with fond amusement. “Yes, he’s enjoying it.” 

“Oh, ok. Good.” Roman nodded, turning back to the cat at another loud sound of disapproval, it becoming very apparent that he expected all the attention at all times. “Oh my god, I’m still petting you.” 

“ _Mrow_.”

“...I swear you just back sassed me.” 

“Oh, he definitely did.” Came Virgil’s voice.

Roman received another little thump, him just rolling his eyes and going back to petting the cat. After a bit longer, him discovering a spot under his chin that actually got him to calm down and just enjoy the scratches for a bit, Roman found himself just looking over the animal before him. Studying him a little bit. The more he thought about it, besides the hitting part at least, Tiger was sort’ve.. The cat version of himself. He was big, commanded attention... And undeniably memorable, no doubt about that. 

“...So, Tiger, huh? Just because he’s big? And the color?” Roman asked Virgil, not taking his eyes off the cat leaning into his hand. 

“Yep. Some people do change their pet’s name after adopting them, and he’s a smart boy. I’m sure he’d get used to it if you wanted to. If you decided he could be right for you, of course.” Virgil explained, leaned back against the wall and watching the two of them. 

“Hmm...” 

A bit of paperwork, bedding, a few toys, a week’s worth of food, and the knowledge that a certain large boy refused to ride in a cat carrier later... Roman pushed open the door to his house, both hands full with bags. As he walked in and dropped a bag, he turned his head to look up at his cat, the cat who’d very quickly discovered that Roman’s broad shoulders were just the right size for him to stand or lay across. He just reached up to scratch him under the chin with a soft smile. 

“Welcome home, Rajah.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Roman was shocked awake by a weight dropping onto his stomach, for what was literally the third time in three days. The worst part about that was that Rajah had immediately decided that Roman’s bed was where he was going to sleep. Which wasn’t a problem in and of itself, it was a king size bed after all, and even Roman couldn’t occupy all of it. No, the actual issue was that if his cat already slept in the bed with him, but this was how he decided to wake him... It meant that Rajah woke up, climbed up onto the highest part of the headboard, and then purposefully leapt onto him to wake him each day. 

“Oof.” He opened his eyes, seeing the aforementioned twenty or so pounds of orange monster sitting on his chest and staring back at him. He sighed heavily, moving a hand to give him a few pets down his head and back. “...Rajah, dude. There has got to be a better way.” 

“Mroooow.” 

“...fine, I’m getting up.” Roman shook his head, Rajah leaping off his chest to allow him to get up. 

On good days, Roman had a routine in the morning. He’d get up and head into the bathroom, brush his teeth, then take his medication. He had two different medications he took, one in the morning and one at night. Over time he’d developed a system for making sure he remembered them both, and it was very simple. At night when he took the second one, he’d put the pill bottle on top of the other. In the morning, if the second bottle was on top of the morning bottle, he hadn’t taken the morning one yet. Simple and effective. So, he’d move the night bottle next to the morning one, take his morning dose, then head to the kitchen. The coffee pot went on, Rajah got his breakfast, then he’d make himself something to eat. 

Of course, Rajah yelled at him the entire time. He followed his human at the heels, screaming all the while. Once Roman finally sat down with his food and his coffee, Rajah would actually quiet down and begin to eat. Munching on his breakfast, Roman thought over the few days since he’d brought his cat home. 

In a manner of only three days, this cat had already knocked over all the picture frames, decided he didn’t like where his food bowl was - twice, yelled bloody murder at the take out delivery guy, hidden one of Roman’s running shoes - it had still not resurfaced, and leapt into the shower while it was in use. That last one ended particularly poorly for both of them. 

So they were clearly having some kind of adjustment period.. At least Roman hoped that’s what this was. He really wanted to believe that the way that that day continued was not how things were going to be for the foreseeable future. He could already tell that today was going to far from 100%. His breakfast was uninteresting, the notifications and feeds that he checked seemed particularly boring, and when he went to put his dishes in his sink and banged his thigh on the corner of the counter, his only reaction was “Well, this just might as well happen.” 

Clearly his apathy level was much higher than optimal. But he was up, he was moving.. So it could be worse. He plopped himself down on the couch, turning on the tv. ...Nothing was interesting, nothing was stimulating. At that point he’d just zone out and let the nothing carry him forward until he either decided he should have food again or go to bed. He would have, at least, if something hadn’t gotten in the way. Something very large, very loud... And very fluffy. 

“Mrow.” He heard from just behind him before there was something nudging his head. From the size, it was clearly Rajah’s head. 

Roman sighed, letting himself slide down lazily so he could see the large Maine coon standing on the back of the couch. “Whaaaat?” He asked, staring up at the cat. 

Rajah stepped down onto his chest, giving him a little whap to the cheek. Roman hardly reacted. Rajah didn’t seem at all impressed, or satisfied, by his non-reaction. He tried again. “Mrooooow.” But all he got in response was a raised eyebrow. 

Clearly he had to find another tactic. With a leap, he went off to find something else to do. Roman stayed laying across his couch, just looking up at the ceiling, until he heard a crash. With a groan he sat up, looking to the kitchen to see if he could see what it was that made the sound. There was nothing visible from his position, so he slowly straggled his way to his feet and meandered to the kitchen, looking inside with a somewhat uninterested expression. He found Rajah, peeking out from a cupboard, meowing loudly at him for good measure. 

His eyes flicked downward, seeing that on the floor was a bag of sugar, a bottle of vanilla, a few spices... Roman wasn’t sure how he even got into that cabinet, but he might as well pick all that up. As he was putting it all on the counter, he realized that a lot of what he had out could make a pretty good batch of cookies. As he put the spices back in the cabinet, he grabbed a bag of chocolate chips and read the recipe... Yeah, this was totally doable. 

Roman was mixing the chocolate chips into the batter he’d made, the final step, when he finally looked up to check on what his cat was up to. He turned around, and there was Rajah. Sitting silently on the counter, watching with a smug expression on his face. 

He didn’t even know cats had the ability to look smug. But there he was. Definitely, obviously, clearly, _undeniably_ smug. 

Whatever. 

The cookies went in the oven and Roman vaguely cleaned up the kitchen as he waited, getting a glass of milk and the cookies on a plate once they were ready. The next few hours were spent back on the couch again, him not having realized how much time had passed when Rajah started up again. 

“Mrow.” Came the deep meow, followed quickly by a bat of a paw to his side.

“What do you need?” He asked, lazily rolling his head to the side to see him. 

“Mrooooooooow.” 

Roman glanced up at the clock. “Oh, your dinner. Alright, alright. I’m going.” He leaned forward, letting his weight and momentum pull him to his feet, making his way to go get Rajah’s food and fill the bowl. “There we go. Good?” 

“Mrooooooow.” Apparently not. 

“What else could it be? It’s dinner time.” He asked, looking at him tiredly. 

Rajah ran his way back into the kitchen, still yelling. Roman just followed him with a sigh, watching him jump up onto he fridge and continue. He crossed his arms, not at all sure what this animal could want. ...Maybe if he opened the fridge, he’d figure it out? Opening it up, he looked inside, not seeing anything that this cat could possibly be after. Oh, that leftover Chinese food though. That looked good. He pulled it out, shutting the fridge and opening up the container, grabbing a fork and not bothering to heat it up. 

He snacked on the cold orange chicken, somewhat forgetting what he’d been doing. By the time he looked up, Rajah was gone. The sound of crunching had him turn his head, Roman finding that the source was his cat finally eating his own dinner. Huh, well.. At least he wasn’t yelling anymore. 

Roman wandered his way back to the couch, still eating his leftovers as he went back to looking at his phone and ignoring the television. 

“Mroooow.” 

“Oh, what is it now, Rajah? You just ate.” Roman groaned, looking over at him. 

“Mrooooooow.” 

He rolled his eyes glancing up at the clock again. ...Oh. Apparently it had been a few hours since dinner. It was actually already pretty late. Oh. Rajah slept in his bed with him, and cats liked to sleep on warm things... 

“...You just want me to lay down so you can get comfy, don’t you?” He sighed, once again dragging himself to his feet. He trudged his way to his room, starting to undress so he could throw himself in his bed. At least this day was finally over and he could just lay down. 

**_Crash_ **

Or not. That sounded like it came from the bathroom off his room. Moving to look through the doorway, there was Rajah. Sitting in the sink. On the floor was his hairbrush, the toothpaste, and both his medication bottles. “...You are such a little orange menace, you know that?” Roman groaned, picking up the mess. Without a second thought, he took his night meds, set the bottles back up, then brushed his teeth. Once he was done, Rajah followed him out of the bathroom, waiting for Roman to get undressed and into bed. 

As soon as Roman laid down, his cat bounded up into the bed, laying on his chest and nuzzling his head against Roman’s cheek a couple times before curling up to sleep atop him. He slowly lifted an arm, starting to bed the orange fluff, smiling as he began to purr. He purred like a malfunctioning lawnmower, but it was still his purr, and it made Roman smile.

Luckily this cat was pretty cute, seeing as he was such a pain in the butt. He let his mind wander back through the day as he pet him, thinking over what this little menace had gotten up to. He’d finally been about to go bed, but of course he had to go make a mess in the bathroom. Thankfully when he knocked over his pills and his toothpaste nothing burst open. It would have been an entire other ordeal if he had had to clean all that up. How would he have taken his meds if they’d spilled everywhere? ....Wait, how would he have taken them.. Roman’s hand stilled on Rajah’s back, causing the cat making a questioning little “Mrrrp?” 

If Rajah hadn’t knocked them over, Roman would have missed his night dose. He’d been so ready to go to bed.. What had happened before that? ...Dinner. He definitely wouldn’t have gotten up to feed Rajah if he hadn’t come and bugged him, his sense of time had been weird all day. But, Rajah hadn’t been bugging him to feed him, that wasn’t what got him to stop yelling. He... He hadn’t stopped until Roman had started eating his own food. He had been making sure that his human had dinner. And before that.. He had baked cookies today, because Rajah knocked the sugar down. Just.. A nice little treat because he’d been down today? Had this cat already witnessed him stress baking? 

Roman went back to petting down his back, smiling so fondly over this little guy... He really had his back. He dozed off with a warm feeling in his chest. What a good boy.

The next few days were a little more normal, Roman not needing so much assistance in getting his usual things accomplished. Of course that couldn’t last forever, and he hadn’t even had his cat a whole week before he woke up and he just knew. Today was cursed, he would be doing zero things today. Hopefully Rajah would take it easy on him.. Hopefully he could at least get himself up and feed him this morning. Hopefully he... Wait.. Where was he? 

Roman opened his eyes, looking over to the side and seeing the boy in question, sitting up on the pillow beside him, watching him. He weakly lifted his hand, leaving his elbow planted on the mattress, and gave the cat a few soft scratches on the back of his head before rolling away from him, laying on his side and facing the opposite direction. 

He laid there still a few moments, waiting for the inevitable nagging about breakfast. ...But it didn’t come. He felt twenty pounds of fluff make its way up and over him, using his hip as a step up and down. Roman wasn’t sure what he was expecting this cat to do, but as he walked up the bed and nestled against his chest, getting comfy against him and purring.. He knew it certainly wasn’t that. 

Roman just gave a small tired smile, burying a hand in the fluff of his buddy’s back and laying there with him. ...He’d get himself up, he’d make sure both of them got breakfast... But not yet. For now, he was going to stay right here. It was going to be a rough day, but at least he wasn’t going to have it alone. 


	3. Epilogue

Logan walked through the front door of the pet store, holding his young son’s hand as they made their way inside. He knew he was about to be asked about 100 times if they could get a cat, or a dog, or a chinchilla, or a parakeet… Or anything else that caught his eye. And he’d have to explain that they were only there to get fish food for the tank at Logan’s work, and that they didn’t have the space in their house for a pet right now, they’d talk about it more in the future and… 

He realized that his son had stopped in his tracks, Logan looking down to see what had distracted the small boy. Patton had a very confused expression on his face, looking around for something. Before his father could ask what it was he was searching for, he heard what it was that must have been the source of the confusion. There was a voice coming from somewhere nearby, which normally wouldn’t have stuck out so much, but the conversation was definitely a unique one.

“Ok, so what do you want?” 

“Mroooow.” 

“No, you’re going to pick.” 

“Mrooow.” 

“Because apparently everytime I pick it’s not good enough, and I can’t find the brand that the shelter used to give you. So this time you’re doing it.” 

“ _Mrooooooow_.” 

“Tough.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow, him and Patton meeting eyes with matching confused expression. The small boy gave his father a little tug, leading him off to follow his ears and find the source. Normally the more serious man wouldn’t do something like this.. But he had to admit he was rather curious. 

Patton peeked down an aisle and saw something he’d definitely never before. There was a very tall man, with a very large cat… Wearing a collar with a leash, and standing on his shoulders. He had to blink a few times to truly made sense of the scene, before his mouth stretched into a huge smile. Logan also took a moment to parse through what he was seeing, but Patton clearly managed to do so first. …Seeing as by the time Logan had done so, Patton had slipped his small hand out of his father’s and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him up to the man in front of them. 

Logan’s eyes widened, opening his mouth to call out to his son, but the boy was too quick. 

A tiny hand grabbed onto Roman’s pant leg, giving it a soft little tug. “Scuse me?” 

Roman hadn’t even noticed the approaching child, looking down at the tiny voice and the soft tugging near his knee. “…Oh! Hello there.” He smiled warmly, not noticing that this adorable child had a very gay father at the mouth of the aisle who definitely paused at that smile. 

“May I please pet your kitty?” Patton asked, too small and cute to possibly say no to. 

“Of course! As long as it’s ok with…” Roman looked up, spotting a man who clearly must have been in charge of this child. Logan nodded, giving permission as he watched this interaction. The large man gave him a warm smile and nod in response before he crouched down and encouraged Rajah to sit in front of him, just before Patton. “Be careful though, he’s strong. And sometimes when you pet him, he likes to pet back.” He explained with a soft laugh. 

Patton was nearly vibrating in excitement, reaching out to pet the cat - that easily rivaled him in size, with his entire little hand. He was giggling as his hand disappeared into the orange floof and he managed to give a few pets before he felt a little thump on his tiny chest. Looking down, he quickly saw that there was a paw pressed to his shirt.

Roman was a bit concerned, not sure how the small boy would react to the action and hoping beyond hope that Rajah hadn’t hurt him. Thankfully the giggles quickly returned and it was only a moment longer before the cat was nuzzling his head against him, and the petting continued. 

By then Logan had finally walked up to join them, smiling fondly over the scene before them. “…Thank you. He absolutely loves cats.” He said, looking at the larger man. 

Roman held onto the end of the leash, but took that moment to stand back up straight and address the man. And the fact that the boy’s father blushed a bit as he saw how tall he was definitely wasn’t lost on him. 

With a charming smile, he nodded. “It’s no problem, Rajah loves attention. And I’m Roman by the way.” He added, holding out a hand to shake.

“Logan. And this is my son, Patton.” He responded, taking his hand to return the greeting.

The adults looked back down, watching how immediately these two had become friends.

“…You know, if you’d like.. We could always set up a little play date.” Roman offered, looking back at Logan. 

Logan blinked, looking back up at the man before him and feeling warmth growing in his cheeks. “Oh, that sounds.. Quite nice.” 

“Perfect. Here, I’ll give you my number and we can set it up. You two can come by my place, I can make dinner.. It’ll be fun for everyone.” He said casually, pulling out his phone.

“…I don’t doubt that.” 

Roman smiled, glancing down once again at the adorable boy who had clearly already completely fallen for his cat. Rajah had already improved in his life in far more ways than he’d ever expected.. But it definitely seemed like he’d be adding another reason onto that list.F


End file.
